[PDF] 66 Value and Use of English as a Global Language in a Bulgarian

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March,2021,Vol.13,No.1,pp.66-81.

DOI:10.32674/jcihe.v13i1.2072

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a yICchodca asagloballanguage(EGL) coexist,for thelatterisavitaltooltoattaintheformerandviceversa. Althoughtheformercameintoexistencein non -nativeEnglish-speakingcountriesinEurope, andthelatterbecamethemajormediumofinstruction atuniversities withthe defacto 'extraterritorial' linguafranca, researchinto internationalstudents' issueshasmainlybeenconductedinEnglish-speakingcountries. Thispaper,therefore,aimstoexplore such valueanduseofEGL inahighereducationinternationalizationcontextinBulgaria. Withthe qualitativeresearchapproach,twothemesemerge,answeringtworesearchquestions. Theresults thatimpacttheiradjustment @0=A"$7;: useofEnglishasagloballanguage,non-nativeEnglishstudents,highereducation internationalization,WorldEnglishes a

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work,betterlives. Inrecentyears,thepursuit ofhighereducationabroadhasattractedmorethanfive millionstudentstostudyindifferentdestinations,whichnotonlyindicates campusdiversityand

2014). By2025,thenumberofinternationalstudentsworldwideispredictedtoreach15million

(Altbach,2016). Thisphenomenonisconsideredasinternationalizationofhighereducation. 67
Inescapably, internationalizationofhighereducationcoexistswithuseofEnglishasaglobal language (EGL). WhiletheformerhelpstodrivetheattainmentofEGLforinternationalcommunication, knowingEnglishadvancesapersonorasystem'sabilitytobecomeinternationalized. Althoughthe formercameintoexistenceinnon-nativeEnglish-speaking(NNES) countriesinEurope (Altbach,2015), and thelatterbecamethemajormediumofinstructionatuniversities (Yano,2018) withthe defacto 'extraterritorial' linguafranca(Seidlhofer,2012), researchinrelationto internationalstudents' issues havemainlybeenconductedinEnglish-speakingcountries(Khanal&Gaulee,2019). Withinthisdebate, itisworthexploring thevalueanduseof EGL inahighereducationinternationalizationcontextin Bulgaria,inwhich AmericaneducationalsystemsandEnglishasmediaofinstructionandcommunication areadopted. Itattemptstoanswerthesetworesearchquestions:(a) thewayinwhich NNESstudents valueEnglishattheexclusionofotherlanguages;and(b) theway inwhichtheyexperiencetheuseof

EGLinthiscontext.

,enaThnKvCna accordswiththeOrganizationforEconomicCooperationandDevelopment's(2013) reportthatthetop percent) andNorthAmerica(21percent). Whilethisinternationalizationparticularlycameinto wasuniquelyfoundedundercollaborationswiththeU.S.,andBulgariangovernment. Throughits internationalfacultymembers. OneofthekeycomponentsofglobaleducationisEnglish. Approximately,1.8billionpeople communication(Corradi,2017). Assuch,Englishattainsitsglobalstatusofacommoditythathasan effectonschoolcurricularandcultures(Spring,2009) inmanyNNEScountriesinwhichEnglishbecomes acompulsorysubjectlearnedasaforeignlanguage atschool. InEurope,Englishasaforeignlanguage 68
languagetohaveaglobalshareinpowerofcollaborationandcompetition(Tananuraksakul,2010). In parallel,Manakul(2007,p. 161) concludedinherresearchthat"foracountrywhoselanguageisused onlywithinitsboundaries,usingEnglishinhighereducationhascertaininternationalizationeffects" in attractingexcellentstudentsfromothercountries. ItcanbesaidthatEnglishisdeemedessentialand oruseitasanon-nativespeaker. Countries(e.g., countriesoforigininthisstudy)arenotexcluded. It canimplythatNNESstudentsobtainextrinsic TheaforementionedpropositionissubstantiatedinEuropeasSeidlhofer(2012) pointsoutthat EnglishratherthanotherlanguageshasbeenpartofallEuropeancitizens' lives. Theirdailyactivitiesare lyrics. TakeBulgariaanexample. Newgenerationsofthiscountryarefullyawareofadvancementsof useofEGLintheirfuturecareer,life-longlearning,andmobility(Vasileva, 2008),andtheytendtolearn singingwithlyrics andevenuseEnglishasapartoftheirdailylives(Slavova,2018,p.89). Asaresult, "Euro-English" hascomeintobeing (Yano,2018,p.100),atypeof"pidginEnglish" mostlyusedinthe

EuropeanUnion

. TheimplicationisthatEuropeanstudentsfromNNESbackgroundsarecontextually language. KhanalandGaulee(2019,pp.569-570) proposedthatall NNESstudentsinEnglishspeaking countriesmustexperience:cultureshock,feelingsofdiscomfort,frustration,andconfusion; issues relatingtofinance,psychology, living,andsocio-culture; andobstaclestouseEnglishforsocialand academicpurposes. Thesechallenges derivefromunfamiliaritywith socioculturalandlinguistic differences,whichinturnnegativelyimpacttheirpsychologicalwell-being(Tananuraksakul,2009b); for instance, adjustto(Lietal., 2010),whichcanbeunderstoodthroughHofstede's(2019)culturaldimensions, namely, individualism,collectivism,andpowerdistance. Forexample,inordertoshowsocialharmony andrespecttoteachers,Bulgarianstudentshave collectivistic andhighpowerdistancebackgrounds,so they culturallyvaluegrouprelations,passivelearningbehaviorsintheclass,andfacenegotiation. These 69
valuesareopposedto Americanswhoseculturalbackgroundsaremoreof individualismandlowpower distance. (studentsandlecturers), itiscommonforthemtocommunicatein"WorldEnglishes",thetermKachru (1992) coinedinthe1970stodescribeEnglishvarietiessocio-linguisticallyusedbyspeakersofnative, near-nativeandnon-nativeEnglish. Almostone-thirdof speakersfromthe13NNEScountriesofthe (Anderman&Rogers,2005,p.24). IntergroupcommunicationviaWorldEnglishescanbreakdownif lengthandtheplacingoftonicstress"(p.91), causedanNNESperson'spronunciationtolackmutual intelligibilitytoanNNESinterlocutor. Inaddition,unfamiliaritywithcertainvarietiesofEnglishand (Tananuraksakul,2009b,2012),whichcan cause WorldEnglishesshockandrepetitionshock,which refersto emotionalimpactsby exposuretoalienvarietiesofEnglishandrepetitionwhenexpressing something(Tananuraksakul,2009b, p.49). NNESstudentswithcollectivistandhierarchicalcultures(collectivismand'highpowerdistance') likely valueEnglishlanguagelearning becauseofparental, social, orpersonalaspirationsandnegotiatefacein groupinteractions. Faceintersectswithidentityintheconversationsincetheformerrepresentshow negotiatealloftheirlivesthroughtheirinteractionswithothers. Identityishencemultifaceted (Thornborrow,2004;Ting-Toomey,2005) inthatpeopleoftenmoderatetheiridentityinaccordance withthesocialsituationtheyengageinandtheirgoalforinteractions. NNESstudents' socialand English-speakingcountrieswhereindividualismand'lowpowerdistance' areculturallyexercised. wncemCa Thepresent studyisconsidered phenomenologicalsinceit explores NNESstudents' personal experiences(Johnson&Christensen,2012)invalueanduseofEGLinthepresentcontext. Unstructured in-depthinterview wasoptedfordatacollection,asitallowedthemtoprovideinsightfulinformation (Creswell,2015) abouttheirexperiences. ThetargetgroupwasundergraduatestudentsfromNNES 70
systems hadapprovedtheethicalaspectsofthisstudy. Invitationstovoluntarilyparticipateinthisstudywere postedonstudentboardsinthemainbuildingswherethetargetgroupcouldeasilynotice. Thirteen andeachinterviewtookabout30 minutes. Examplesofunstructuredquestionsare: (a)whyareyoustudyingEnglish? (c)canyousharethoseexperiences? (d)howdidyoufeelaboutthoseexperiences? notesinsteadoftaperecordingsothattheyfeltateasetosharetheirexperiences. Theinterviewdata were thentranscribedandvalidatedbyeachparticipantwhowasrequestedtocheck,correctand approv ethetranscriptsthroughemail. Afterthat, thetranscriptswereanalyticallysegmentedand codedsoastoidentifythemes(Creswell,2003;Johnson&Christensen,2012)inrelationto theresearch questions. Throughthisprocess,theresearcherfirsthighlightedthesegmentsofdataintomeaningful Oneoftheparticipantswasmalewhile12werefemale. SevenwerefromBulgariawhiletherest werefromGeorgia,Ukraine,Croatia,andKazakhstan. TheyallhadtopassastandardizedEnglishtestfor universityadmission. ThedurationoftheirEnglishstudyrangedfrom6yearsto16years,andallof themindicatedinTable1areadequately competentinEnglish. ,oIunaP

B&$-.8.,&%-;C D0+"4$&,5.8(2%)"$+&-."%(

'crnlcaDocvmlouaGrhocvmlampa CcrbampatliuvCe (bnohC)atliuvCeaThmpvdvnldbaHnOnua

1Bulgarian11-12IELTSscoreband= 8.0

2GeorgianSincefirstgradeTOEFL= 100+

3Bulgarian14-15IELTSscoreband= 8.0

4Croatian12IELTSscoreband= 8.0

71

5 Bulgarian10IELTSscoreband= 7.5

6BulgarianSince2-3yearsoldCambridge-C1

7Bulgarian9CAE

8Ukrainian16TOEFL= 102

9Bulgarian14CAE= B

10Kazakhstani5IELTSscoreband= 6.5

11

Ukrainian8TOEFL= 575

12

BulgarianOver10PreparationforIELTS

13

Georgian6TOEFL-unindicatedresult

:vlvliCaa Dataqua litativelycollectedfrom13 undergraduatestude ntsfromNNE Sback groundswere groupedintotwothemesthat answeredtheresearchquestions.a FnbaBnCnohdea,enKnaWln: JournampatliuvCeaocacenatUdurCvmlampaWcenhaHoliroinCa doesnotmeanthatallstudentscanbefluentinthelanguage. Studentsfromthesetwocountries particularlyraisedthisissue. Students2,5,6,9,and12expressedtheirvoiceinasimilarmannertosay thateveryoneintheircountrywa srequiredtostudyEnglish ,butnoteveryonecouldspeakit. Student5 additionallyexplained thisdichotomybysaying, "thelearningenvironmentisnotcompetitiveenough learnbetter..." Students6and9sharedanotherinsightintotheirhomelandsastheformermentioned English..."Thelattersays "hereinBulgaria,Englishisthemoststudiedforeignlanguage...withoutEnglish itcreatesbarriers..." a Parentsalsohaveagreatimpactonsomestudents' motiveinlearningEnglish,whichreflectthe collectivisticcultureembeddedinthem. Students1,6and9wereencouragedtolearnEnglishbytheir parentswhentheywereyoung. Student1says "mymothermademestudyit. Ithinksheknewthe importanceofthelanguage,"whileStudent9stated "IstartedwatchingEnglishcartoonsfromFox'skids studyEnglishwithaprivatetutor." Student6elaboratedthat"mymotherwasproudofmewhenseeing 72
Student4,meanwhile,studiesEnglishduetotheparents' workasdiplomats,movingaroundfromItaly toAustraliatoEgypttoCroatiaandnowtoBulgaria. a requirespersonalaspirationorintrinsicmotivationtolearnthelanguagesuccessfully. Students1,3and televisionshows,andthelastpracticesEnglishthroughvideogames. Student1lovesEnglandandhas "passionforEnglish." Student3hasspentsummersinAmericathroughaworkandtravelprogramsince people,exploretheworld,goandliveinanewcountry." Student12"likesEnglish...itislikemusictome. TheperceptionofEnglishbeingmusicmotivatesme tolearnthelanguage." a FnbaBnCnohdea,enKna,?m: HvlirvCcvdAasrucrhouaolaTCbdemumivdouaseouunlinCa writingandspeakingskillsinthefirstyearofstudy,saying: a IpreferrednottosaysomethingtoseniorstudentsbecauseIwasafraidtomakea mistakeor andtheclub[Ibelongto],Ibegantointeractwith everyone...Ialsohadaproblemwith enoughwordsinEnglishtoexpressmyself. Actually,there'snotenoughpracticebutIcould Students10and12sharedsomethingincommonastheyhadproblemsinwriting. Theformer emphasizedthat"mywritingskillisnotgoodenough as IstilltranslatefromRussiantoEnglish and receive aprofessor'scommentabouttheneedstoimprovemywriting..." Thelattersaid: tocontrolit . Sometimes,Ifeelstressed,butpracticingalothelpsmefeelbetter. Ihavea adocument. IfeelthatImaymakeamistakeonthedocumentandIfeelinsecure...it'slike takingatest in theirwritingskills. Theformerthought "speakingwasproblematicduetolackofself-esteem," but writingwas"goodenough. Icompensateitwithmyspeakingproblem,soIfeelashamedandstupid, loweringmyconfidenceandself-esteemwhenIreadsomethinganddon'tunderstandit..." Thelatter 73
confidence" whenaprofessorcommendedonthepaperthat"itwaswrittenwellwithgoodcontent althoughgrammarwasincorrect." Students5,7,9,and13encounteredasimilarsituation. BothStudents5and13inparticular Englishwith "aheavyaccent",andittooktimetobeusedtoitforStudent5. Itonlytook"afewdays" forStudents7and9tobefamiliarwiththeheavyaccent.However,forStudent13,itwasachallenge to overcomethebarrierbecause: professorfrom[a] French-speakingbackgroundsaidandconcentrateonthelecture...onceIwas worth. makesmefeelinsecure...Iamusedtoformalityinalmost[all] situations...it'slessformalhere...it'shard culture." impactedthem. Student5"feltalittleashamedandfrustrated,"whileStudent7felt"ashamed" when beingaskedbynativeornear-nativeEnglishspeakersatapart-timejobtosaysomethingagain. Student torepeatwhatIsaid." However,Student7wouldfeelfine"ifnon-nativeEnglishspeakersaskmetosay

English."

BothStudents5and7experiencedawkwardmomentsinapproachingtheirprofessors. Whenit appearedtofeelapprehensiveandinturnlostconfidenceandrisk-takingincommunication. Theformer wouldfeel"nervous,worriedandstressedwhichaffectmyconfidenceandself-worth" whereasthe latterwould 74
English-thattheywerebeing"judged." Student6"wouldfeelrelaxedtoexpressmyselfifIfeelcloseto themliketheAmericanprofessors ...it'samatterofarelationshiporwhomI'mtalkingto." Therewas stupid." Whenthispersonhadsuchafeeling,consultationswiththeprofessorafterclasswouldbethe expressmyselfinEnglishandfeelmoreacceptedbyclassmatesandprofessors." Outsidetheclassroom, however,Student4doesnotfeel soconfidentandlacksdignitybecause: motivatedtospeakmoreclearlyandwouldtrytoexplainmyexpressionsbetterorsay'whatever' or staysilent."

GvCdrCCvmla

dependingonone'ssituation. Themeoneanswersthefirstresearchquestionbecauseitmarksthe participants' valueofEnglishattheexclusionofotherlanguages,whichmanifestsintheirpositive affect,namely extrinsicandintrinsicmotivationinlearningthelanguagewithagoodattitude. Arnold andBrown(1999,p.1) regardaffectas"aspectsofemotion,feeling,moodorattitudewhichcondition [languagelearners'] behaviors" inlearningEnglishinthepresentcontext. Positiveaffectstrengthens themtovalueandstudythelanguageandvice -versa. BothsocialcontextoflearningandusingEFLintheparticipants' homelandsandthestatusof participantshavestudiedEnglish. FiveparticipantsfromBulgariaandGeorgiawitnessthisproposition andfindthemselvestobemotivatedtolearnEnglish. AsEnglishprovidesamediumforunderstanding 75

TheassertionfirstlyalignswithSeidlhofer

's(2012,p.359) analogythat"havingEnglishin Europehasbecomeabitlikehavingadrivinglicense: nothingspecial,somethingthatmostpeoplehave, andwithoutwhichyoudonotgetveryfar." Secondly,Slavova's(2018,p.88) researchoutcomesshow sharinginformation. Thirdly,areportbyEFEducationFirstsaysthatfromanonlinesurveyby1.3 globalstatus. Thereisnodoubtthatparents' adviceandcareerindiplomacycouldmakeagreatimpacton theirchildren'smotivation,reflectingacollectivisticcultureembeddedintheirbeingandthinking. Three Thesefindingsappeartoresonatewith28BulgarianparticipantsinSlavova's(2018) researchinto attitudestowardEnglishasalinguafranca. SeveralofthemwereattractedbyEnglishcartoonsduring childhoodandgraduallystartedtocomprehendthelanguage,forexample, onesaid"...[myinterest towardEnglish] allbegan[before4yearsold] withmyloveforcartoonsandthroughwatchingthem exclusivelyIbegantoacquirethebasicsofthelanguage(p.89)". AnotherlearnedtocountinEnglish (Slavova)."

Englishindiffer

entsettings. AccordingtoHofstede(2019),BulgariaandCroatiahavelowscoresin acloselong-termcommitmenttogroupandfamilymembersarehighlyvalued. Thisfindingisparallel withTananuraksakul's(2009a) reportonAsianstudents' personalinsightsintorichexperiencesgained decision-makingorfuture. Theanalysissuggeststhatstudentsfromthecollectivistculturewouldbe parentallyaspiredtovalueandstudyEnglish. whicharestrikinglysimilartoSlavova's(2018) studythatBulgarianstudents' "liferevolvesaroundthe as theBBCandCNN,multiplayeronlinegamesandcommunicationwithfriendsabroad"(p.89). Others 76
tolistento(p.88)..." SpeakingEnglishwell"givesmetheuniqueopportunitytocommunicatewith peoplefromallovertheworldaswellastobecomefamiliarwithdifferentcultures(p.88)..." The intrinsicmotivationandpositiveattitudes. Theme andacademicjourneyinthepresentcontext. DespitethehighlevelsoftheirstandardizedEnglish psychologicalwell-being. FiveparticipantsfromGeorgia,Kazakhstan,BulgariaandUkrainehad wordstheyusedthatwerenot recognizedimmediately(Smith&Nelson,2006). Theyhaddifficultyin understand heavyaccent." Unclearpronunciationevenbysomeonefromthesamenationcausedonestudenttobe unfamiliarwiththeEnglishaccent. OnestudentfromGeorgiaencounteredWorldEnglishesshock,"a extended[afeelingof] insecurity"(Tananuraksakul,2009,p.49). OnlytwostudentsfromBulgariawere toaccommodatetheirspeech. Perhaps,itwasbecauseof'highpowerdistance'thatthosestudents 2019
. Theemotionalimpactsleadto academiccultureshock (Lietal.,2010). Theseoutcomesreflectedinternalculturalaspectsexternally repeatsomethingtheysaid(Tananuraksakul,2009b,p.49). However,empathyforintergroupmembers fromNNESbackgroundspreventedoneBulgarianparticipantfromfeelingrepetitionshock. Theanalysis relationsofpowerandidentities(Norton,2000). Secondly,theencountersofWorldEnglishesshockand 77
globallyinthepresentcontext. onepersonavoidedspeakingintheclassroom. Acrossallculturesandsocialsituations,individuals universallyhave"face"andadesiretomaintainorattainit(Ting-Toomey,1994). Ting-Toomey(2005) faceisthedesiretoappeardignifiedandhonored. Thesetwo'face' outlooksappearedtoinfluence thoseparticipants'perceptions. However,agoodrapportbetweenprofessorandstudenthelpedone studentachieve'face'. Theseoutcomesreflectinternalculturalaspectsnotalwayseasytoobserveand embeddedinsomestudents'consciousness. foundit difficulttonegotiatewithmultipleidentitiesandlostconfidenceanddignity. However,this desiredlinguisticandpsychologicalidentities. OneBulgarianparticipantattemptedtoexercisetheskills ofinterculturalidentitynegotiation(Kim,2001) wheninteractingwithculturallydifferentotherswith speechac smldurCvmlAa1KLuvdocvmlAaolaHvKvcocvmla Thisstudyqualitativelyexplores howNNESstudents value andexperience theuseofEGLina Bulgarianhighereducationinternationalizationcontext whereAmericaneducationalsystemsand Englishas themediaofinstructionandcommunicationareadopted. Twothemesarise,whichanswer theresearchquestions. Thefirstthemedisclosestheparticipants'valueofEnglishattheexclusionof otherlanguages,influencedbysocio-culturalfactors, suchas parental,socialandpersonalaspirations, sinc etheywereyoungintheirhomelands. ThesecondthemeindicatesindividualchallengesofEGLuse academiccultureshock, WorldEnglishesshock,andrepetitionshock, perhapsbecausesociolinguistics theylearnedlocallyathomeandusedgloballyinthepresentcontext. Thehighdegreeof'power themandnativespeakersadditionallyaffectedtheiradjustment. Despitethesechallenges,itappeared confidence,andempathy) withthemoncesteppingintonewsocialandacademicsettings. 78
experienceacademiccultureshock,WorldEnglishesshock,andrepetitionshock. Secondly,thepositive effectinlanguagelearningcanleadthemtointerculturalcommunicationcompetence sinceChang's (2013) researchfindingsimplythatmindfulnessisthekeyofinterculturalcommunication,andthat determinantsthatimpacttheiradjustment. yrcemhaDmcn meindatacollection. MacquarieUniversity,Australia. MyresearchinterestsvaryfromEnglishlanguageteachingtomediatedquotesdbs_dbs14.pdfusesText_20

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